Mutual Benefit in Social Responsibility
By Henry Stewart, Chief Executive of Happy Computers
At Happy Computers we aim to donate the equivalent of 20% of profits (in cash, gifts-in-kind and volunteering) to the community. People often ask how we can take this figure so high. The answer is that it is based on the concept of 'mutual benefit', that the work we do should benefit both the community and Happy Computers.
This can be in terms of motivation of staff (with resulting improved retention) or skills development. One example was our Uganda project. Two of our trainers went to Kampala for a month to work with a local community IT project. The aim was to increase their skills and leave a fully self-sufficient IT training capability of the highest standard.
There were clear benefits to the local community. But in terms of personal development and motivation I can think of no greater effect that could have been reached by another route. If we had sent them on one of those development courses in the Welsh hills, for instance, it wouldn't have had the same impact - and could have cost twice as much!
Timebank
We now have a Timebank of 100 days, that any of our 45 staff can claim for a project. One example was a trainer who was about to train web development, but hadn't created one himself. We could have given him a practice site to build but instead teamed him with a city farm (for inner city children to visit and meet animals).
The project improved his skills and was hugely motivational, introducing him to new experiences. 'I milked a goat', he commented when asked what he'd enjoyed.
So think about it. How can you create community projects that combine your internal needs with the needs of the local community - and bring mutual benefit?
